Stories of
American Heroes -
Brought to you from the "Home of Heroes" - Pueblo, Colorado

Francis Xavier McGraw

TAPS

Fading light dims the sight,
And a star gems the sky,
Gleaming bright.
From afar drawing nigh,
Falls the night.

Day is done, gone the sun,
From the lake, From the hills,
From the sky.
All is well, safely rest,
God is nigh.

Then good night, Peaceful night,
Till the light of the dawn
Shineth bright,
God is near, do not fear,
Friend, good night.

Buried at A.B.M.C. Henri-Chapelle
A-18-25

Born:at Philadelphia, PA

Entered Service in the US
Army from Camden, NJ

Earned
The Medal of Honor During World War II For heroism November
19, 1944 at Schevenhutte, Germany

Died:November
19, 1944

Private First
Class McGraw manned a heavy machinegun emplaced in a foxhole
near Schevenhutte, Germany, when the enemy launched a fierce
counterattack. Braving an intense hour-long preparatory barrage,
he maintained his stand and poured deadly accurate fire into the
advancing foot troops until they faltered and came to a halt.
The hostile forces brought up a machinegun in an effort to
dislodge him but were frustrated when he lifted his gun to an
exposed position atop a log, courageously stood up in his
foxhole and knocked out the enemy weapon. A rocket blasted his
gun from position, but he retrieved it and continued firing. He
silenced a second machinegun and then made repeated trips over
fire-swept terrain to replenish his ammunition supply. Wounded
painfully, he disregarded his injury and hurried back to his
post, where his weapon was showered with mud when another rocket
barely missed him. With enemy troops taking advantage of his
predicament to press forward, he calmly cleaned his gun, put it
back into action and drove off the attackers. He continued to
fire until his ammunition was expended. He then picked up a
carbine, killed one enemy soldier, wounded another and engaged
in a desperate firefight with a third until he was mortally.